College of Education graduate receives Educator of the Year Award from Hawaii Association of Middle Schools

HONOLULU - Irene Ueda, a graduate of the College of Education M.Ed. in Curriculum Studies Program at UH Mānoa, was presented with the C.W. Stevens Middle Level Educator of the Year award from the Hawaiʻi Association of Middle Schools (HAMS) at their annual conference last month. She was honored for her positive impact on adolescents, commitment to school and community, and support of middle level education philosophy and practices.

Ueda graduated in 2006 and mentors student teachers from the COE. She is currently an 8th grade heterogeneous English teacher and 7th grade elective wheel Japanese language teacher at R. L. Stevenson Middle School. A former English Department Chair at the middle school, Ueda advises the school's English Club and served on the curriculum committee for the formation of the school's reading program.

According to Paul Deering, Associate Professor in the COE, some of Ueda's many other accomplishments include starting the state‘s only middle school billiards club, running a "Crime Scene Investigation" interdisciplinary curriculum project, and co-coaching student Andrew Zhou to the 2007 National Spelling Bee Finals in Washington, D.C.

"I‘m still a little in shock over all of this because I wouldn‘t have been able to do all that I did without the support of my colleagues and administration," Ueda said. "I personally feel that this sort of thing cannot be given to just an individual since it is a mark of excellence for all of our school‘s teachers combined, and I am just lucky enough to be the recipient."